Wednesday, November 6, 2013

{Note to readers: I'm participating in a 21 Days of Gratitude Meditation Program, which you can access for free here.}
I'm not sure what the opposite of focused is called (blurry?) but I'm it.

Case in point: On the weekends, I'll make myself a short, run-of-the-mill to-do list with a mix of chores and school work. Fold laundry. Take out trash. Read next chapter in book for Language Arts.

The only problem is that my brain works something like this:

Example 1:
10:19 am: Fold two tank tops.
10:20 am: Wonder if Target has fake UGG boots. Drop laundry and walk to computer.
10:23 am: Realize Target does not, in fact, have fake UGG boots and spend an hour gettin' feisty on Google.
11:30 am: Look around living room and think "WHY IS THERE STILL SO MUCH LAUNDRY TO FOLD?"

Example 2:
4:01 pm: Decide bathroom and office trash cans need to be taken out.
4:02 pm: Walk into bathroom. Forget why you were there.
4:03 pm: Decide to self-tan to eliminate pasty-white winter skin.
4:10 pm: Remember you were in the bathroom to take out the trash, but now you're covered in self-tanner and the back of the bottle says not to touch anything for an hour.

(Maybe my memoir should be called "The Brain of a Hummingbird: How to Stay Busy Without Actually Accomplishing Anything".)

To me, the power of focus really comes down to the power of saying no. For instance, I told myself I wanted to spend this past weekend cooking, blogging and doing a small amount of school work. Then I decided to spend my Sunday at the Carolina Panthers football game.

Fun? Yes. Worth spending the rest of the week trying to play catch-up? No.

Other things I need to say no to on a regular basis: Facebook, television, randomly surfing the internet (fake Uggs or no).

After two years of living in the middle of nowhere, it's also hard for me to turn down social invitations (it's just so exciting to have something to do!), even though they can sometimes distract from my focus.